Demons of the Past
by Book Soldier
Summary: (SPOILERS FOR ALL BOOKS!) An escaped Skandian slave, who is still addicted to warmweed, is found in the woods by Will. Can Will escape old memories and still be able to help the boy? Can both escape the demons of their past?
1. Chapter 1

**Ok ok. I just want you people that read my other story to know that I am still writing that. This has just bugged me for a while so yep here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to John Flanagan.**

_**This is a memory.**_

My name is Aleksand, I am a Skandian slave, and this is my story.

His first sensation was darkness. Darkness so thick not even light, sound, or feeling could penetrate it. In a world devoid of life or conscious thought. He floated alone in a place only the mind can create. Of course he did not think those things; only one thought escaped his mind, 'Where am I?'

That one thought triggered a sequence of events. A memory of a time long ago flashed forward and consumed the only part of his waking thoughts.

_**A little girl ran up to a young boy a few years older than her and he embraced her, he picked her up and twirled her around.**_

'_**Alek!' the little girl giggled, 'put me down you big dummy!'**_

_**The older boy sat the little child on the floor and plastered a hurt look on his face.**_

'_**O so now I'm a big dummy. I guess I'm not smart enough to take care of you anymore.' The little girl looked alarmed.**_

'_**No, no I didn't mean it Alek' she sat on his feet and wrapped her chubby little arms around his legs, 'please stay I was only joking!'**_

_**The boy laughed, 'Yea I was too. Hey want to go out for a picnic?' The little girl looked up with glee in her eyes and ran to get the basket. **_

'_**I'll pack, you get Daffodil ready.' The girl started to pull out an assortment of foods and shove them in the awaiting basket.**_

_**The boy shook his head at the girl's antics and walked out to the small stables. 'I still can't believe I let her name the horse Daffodil,' the boy scoffed but smiled at the same time.**_

The flashback ended and the awaking presence could feel something change in his environment. But, as soon as the last flashback ended a new one started.

_**The little girl and the boy were lying down in tall grass looking up at the sky where a few lazy clouds skirted the horizon. The girl looked over at the boy with her big blue eyes filled with sadness.**_

_**He noticed her sorrow and returned the gaze. 'What's the matter Gwen?' The girl blinked and looked away. A single tear fell from her face and splashed onto the rich soil below.**_

_**The boy, who was worried, pulled the girl into a tight embrace and she snuggled into his comforting arms. **_

'_**Alek?' the little girl looked quite distraught and the boy couldn't figure out why. 'Yes Gwen? What's the matter? You were happy just a few minutes ago.'**_

_**She looked up into his eyes and stared at him as if searching for something in his gaze that would give her answers.**_

'_**You promise not to leave me?' The boy was quite taken back by the question and wondered what could have provoked such thoughts.**_

'_**Of course Gwen.' The little girl shook her head.**_

'_**No, you have to promise me that you will never leave me. You have to promise that you won't leave me to look after myself like Mum and Dad. You have to promise.'**_

_**The boy looked kindly into her eyes and held up his hand. 'I Aleksand, promise not to leave Gwendolyn alone. I promise to always be there for her because I am her bigger brother.' The little girl, with a very serious face, nodded her head and snuggled closer to him.**_

'_**You know Gwen, they left me too. You weren't the only one.' She looked up at him and sat up. She placed her little hand over her heart.**_

'_**I Gwendolyn, promise to look over and make sure my doofus brother doesn't get himself killed washing the dishes and looking after the horse at the same time,' the boy made a sound that sounded like a protest.**_

'_**That was one time Gwen!' The girl just smiled and continued.**_

'_**I also promise to always watch over him and never leave him.' That warmed the boy's heart and he embraced her again. He looked at the sun and saw it descending in the sky.**_

'_**We better get home before it gets dark Gwen.' **_

The conscience was pulled back into the black void and discarded like a rag doll. If it had been a real body on a real floor the body would have broken a few bones. As it was, the conscience felt beat up, or as beat up as a conscience can get.

The conscience, ready to rest, was once again thrown into another memory.

_**The boy and girl were walking hand in hand through a field of tall grass and startled when they saw a bright red light coming from across the grass. They looked at each other worriedly and ran to where their house was sitting and came upon a sight they both had never wanted to see.**_

_**Huge men with horned helmets and battle axes where pillaging the yard where animal carcasses and sacks of wheat and barley were scattered around the yard. Their house was ablaze and was surrounded by an angry orange glow that illuminated the whole area.**_

_**The girl let out a scream and the boy hurriedly covered her mouth with his hand, but it was too late. The children had been heard. One of the burly men came to inspect the area and found the children hiding in the long grass. He yelled at his fellow companions, but the boy grabbed the girl's arm and ran with her through the field.**_

_**He could hear the heavy footsteps behind him and knew that only one of them would make it. He pulled on the girl's arm and directed her around behind a rock outcropping. He twirled her around so she was facing him.**_

'_**Gwen, you have to listen to me. If I distract the men, you can get away.' The little girl shook her head as tears streamed down her face.**_

'_**No, no Alek. You promised to stay with me forever. You promised to protect me. You can't leave me!' Tears poured off her cheeks.**_

_**He knelt in front of her and then pulled her into a tight embrace. After a minute of sobbing from the girl and her soaking the front of his shirt, he pulled her away and looked her straight in the eyes.**_

'_**Gwen, you have to promise to be strong and look after yourself.'**_

_**The girl shook her head, 'No Alek, I can't….' he stopped her and shook her shoulders.**_

'_**You have to promise me that you will try to escape and you will not come back for me.'**_

'_**No Alek I…'**_

'_**Promise.' The girl looked back at him and looked down at her feet. She nodded and he embraced her one last time.**_

'_**Run for town and get help. Gwen, I love you.' He pulled her away and directed her to the town. 'Now go, before they get here!' She ran but hesitated a few yards away. **_

'_**Go!' She turned away and ran up the hill. The boy looked on sadly after her, 'goodbye little sister.' He whispered to her retreating back.**_

_**The boy ran out from behind the outcropping and in the opposite direction of his sister. He only ran a few feet until one of the big men caught up and grabbed both of his arms and lifted him up in the air. The boy tried his hardest to fight his way out but it was futile. **_

_**The man grumbled and threw him to the ground where the boy lay stunned. The man grabbed a club and swung it at the boy's head. Right before the boy blacked out he heard two things.**_

'_**Get the girl. If Erak finds out, we are all dead.' And the last thing that the boy heard was the most terrifying sound he had ever heard in his life.**_

_**A small child's ear-piercing scream which was abruptly cut off. Then the boy knew no more.**_

The conscience, back in the void, pondered over the memories. They seemed familiar but as if they happened in a different life. He felt the shift again but it seemed more prominent. The conscience tried to shake it off and go back to its sleeplike stage, but the shift happened again and the conscience started being pulled toward it.

Suddenly, the world changed. The void melted away__and all sensations burst back flooding the consciences senses and overwhelming him. Sounds roared in his ears and lights and colors blinded him.

**Ok guys! How do you like it? Please review and tell me!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So here we are guys! I am going to tell you guys what I said in my other story. I am moving and school is starting so updating will get slower. Probably once a week or something like that. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that is related to Ranger's Apprentice. Actually I don't own anything except for my OC's and the plot.**

Alek only saw colors, shapes, and shadows. Nothing made sense and he was much disoriented. He tried to bring his hand up and stabilize himself but he couldn't even make his limbs work. The world didn't make any sense. There was no definition of up or down. No left or right.

Alek blinked and tried to gain his bearings. He just wanted to be able to see his hand in front of his face. Anything to give a sign that he could control his body. He kept trying to find the muscles in his body that moved his hand but he just couldn't seem to locate them.

He tried to roll over but the movements to his head made him cry out in agonized pain. He lay panting on the ground while his head pounded. Suddenly a figure like shape moved in the corner of his vision and he tried to look in that direction but could only see shadows and blinding light. Even colors were starting to fade.

The movement happened again and Alek saw it come closer. He tried to move away but again the blinding pain made him stay as still as he could to stop it from happening again. Something sniffed his fingers and Alek knew he was about to die. Something was about to eat him. Tensing, Alek waited for the inevitable pain of death but it never came.

The _thing_ yipped and started to lick his face. Alek tried to shake it off but again the pain forced him to be still. It yipped again and Alek heard a distant sound. Almost like an answer or a call to whatever was now snuggled up to his side.

The other call sounded closer and Alek tried to see what it was. A human like blur formed off to his right and rushed over to him. Alek tried to see who it was but again he could distinguish no details. The person was obviously trying to speak to him but Alek could only hear a muffled murmur. Alek felt the person touch the back of his head and then he felt an arm slipping under his arms and another under his knees.

He was lifted up and the world spun around him. He felt like he was floating upside down. The pain stabbed at him again and Alek finally welcomed the warm comfort of unconsciousness.

**LINE BREAK!**

Will was having a normal day. He had been on a mission that brought him to Castle Araluen and it wasn't bad. He had been able to see Evanlyn and Horace again. He hadn't been able to see much of his best friend since Horace had moved to the castle and it was nice to see him again.

Will was tired though and he was ready to go home. He had said goodbye to his friends and was on his way home with Ebony running in front of him. She would disappear into the bushes and then come out again only to dash again back.

It was warm and sunny and the birds were singing, flitting in and out of the trees. Squirrels scampered through the bushes and chattered loudly to each other. The sun shone through the tree canopy and dappled the ground with shadow patterns.

Will smiled and patted Tug. He couldn't wait to get home and see his beautiful wife Alyss who he hadn't seen in the couple of weeks that he had been gone. He took in a deep breath and exhaled loudly, the day was absolutely perfect.

Will had been riding for a while and the sun warming his back was making him drowsy. The buzz of the afternoon bees didn't help to wake him up either as they sleepily buzzed along collecting nectar from the flowers. Tug even seemed to be plodding along not really wanting to speed up either.

Will started to close his eyes until he heard Ebony yip. He straightened his posture and looked around the surrounding bushes. Will realized that he hadn't seem Ebony in a while and he wondered where she could have wandered off to.

"Ebony! Come here girl!" The only answer that he got was another yip. Something was wrong. She always came unless she had found something. Will hopped off Tug and carefully walked into the bushes following the sound of Ebony's barks.

"Where are you Eb?" Will walked a little further into the bushes and found Ebony curled next to something on the ground. "What have you got there, girl?"

Ebony raised her head and thumped her tail on the ground. Will walked closer to her and saw that she was lying next to a boy on the ground. He rushed over and knelt by the boy checking him for a pulse. After getting an affirmative, he checked the boy over to see if he was hurt at all. Several cuts littered his body and bruises almost entirely covered his face. Blank eyes stared up at Will as if trying to see something that wasn't really there.

"Hey, can you hear me?" The boy just continued to stare. "If you can hear me at all then nod." The boy just stared at him with empty eyes that didn't seem to register anything. Will knew that he had to get the boy some help and the closest place was back at the castle. Feeling behind the boy's head to see if he had a bump or something that may have led to a concussion; he pulled his hand away and saw it covered in blood.

Will scooped up the boy and walked him over to Tug who was still waiting faithfully for him beside the road. With difficulty, Will mounted and started back towards the castle with the boy nestled in his arms. He hoped desperately that the boy would make it to help.

**LINE BREAK!**

Cassandra watched the fields outside her window. It was a wonderful day. She breathed in the sweet air and closed her eyes letting the sun warm her face.

She opened her eyes and saw a long figure on a small horse making their way swiftly towards the castle. She watched a little longer and recognized Will. Curious, she made her way down to the gates to see what he wanted. It couldn't have been good for he had just left to head back to his fief and only something urgent would have brought him back to the castle.

Seeing Will at the gates, she rushed up to him to see what was wrong.

"Will! Why are you back?" Will hopped off Tug and handed him to a stable hand. Cassandra knew something had to be terribly wrong for him to hand off his horse. Normally, he would have taken care of Tug himself.

Cassandra then noticed the bundle in Will's arms. Cassandra gasped when she realized that it was a person that Will was holding.

"Will who is that?" Will gestured for her to follow him and the duo made their way to the infirmary.

"I don't know Evanlyn. Ebony found him lying in the forest and I brought him here. He has a horrible head wound and I'm not sure how long he is going to last." Cassandra peered into Will's arms and saw the boy. He didn't look well and it also looked as if he hadn't eaten in a few days.

Will stopped at the door to the infirmary and knocked. It was at that moment that the boy opened his eyes and gave Cassandra a blank stare. She gasped and halted while Will continued into the room. She had seen that look before and it brought back horrible memories of times past that she had wanted to forget. She had seen it before on Will. It was the look of someone addicted to that horrible drug warmweed.

**So that's it. I'm sorry if any of the character were a little OOC, I'm really tired. Yea so again I'm moving so updates will be really slow. School is also starting so that makes updates even **_**slower.**_** Really sorry guys.**

**Thanks to….. Alex the Rogue, Ranger Wisdom, Phoenix Risin, Ranger indecisive, Miss Kisharoo, and Hibernia12….for reviewing!**

**Please review! It seriously does make me update faster!**

**Question of the day!... Who is your favorite actor?**


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